Newsletter: Essential Politics: My favorite Biden story

I’m Christina Bellantoni, the Essential Politics host today, and it’s time for the hot tub time machine.

As we wait on Vice President Joe Biden to make/announce/stick to a decision about a presidential bid, I’ve gone back through the archives.

What seems like an eternity ago, I spent the late afternoon of Jan. 2, 2008 with Biden in southeastern Iowa, a little more than 24 hours before Barack Obama won the caucuses and Biden ended his campaign.

I remember the moment, in part, because it is a story I’ve told many times about why organization and campaign infrastructure matters.

Biden stuck around long after caucusgoers left the school where he’d held his event, gabbing with reporters about why he deserved a ticket to New Hampshire. The photographer I was traveling with and I stayed behind to file before a long drive. The Biden team was long gone when someone from the school popped into the library to ask if we were going to be taking down the Biden signs left behind. They thought we worked for the campaign, and said things needed to be cleaned up for school the next morning.

I told the school official we were journalists, and the official pulled out a stack of cards from attendees — people pledging to caucus for Biden the next evening — and asked, "What should we do with these?"

Biden’s had been a shoestring campaign, and his staff had forgotten something far more important than removing the bunting before heading to another event. They had neglected to grab the details of people who they needed to make sure did indeed stand up for their guy at the caucuses. It was a small detail, but one that highlighted why it was harder for someone without a huge advance team and an army of volunteers to win in a state where you don’t just check a box for your candidate.

Turns out, what Biden told me in that school library in Ottumwa that day is still relevant, too.

Here’s what I wrote in the next day’s paper:

OTTUMWA, Iowa — Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. said yesterday that even his rivals think he is the most experienced Democratic candidate running for president.

Should he become the Iowa surprise after tonight's caucus and somehow face off against one of the front-runners in the other contests, he would easily beat them, the Delaware Democrat said.

Sure, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton can argue she is most qualified because of her years of service and her two terms as first lady, he said. But, he added, that "is not sufficient to claim that she is ready from Day One," and "just not as relevant" as Mr. Biden's 36 years as a senator.

And Sen. Barack Obama, who talks about telling the American people not what they want to hear, but what they "need to hear," is stealing one of Mr. Biden's lines, the senator said. Former Sen. John Edwards is just trying to scare people with his populist message that all corporations are corrupt, Mr. Biden said.

To boot, none has passed [significant] legislation, Mr. Biden said. He told reporters that even those candidates will say he is the most experienced, but that he can't win. He replied that he can win if Iowans give him a chance.

Biden also riffed on Clinton’s "experience" theme and Obama’s "change" theme to say: "It's not about experience or change, it's about action. … I've initiated more change than all the Democratic candidates combined."

Will that sentiment one day come to a campaign trail near you? Make sure to follow @latimespolitics and sign up for breaking news alerts, and we’ll let you know when we figure out what Biden decides to do this time around.

FROM OUR NEW SACRAMENTO BUREAU CHIEF, @johnmyers

Good morning from the state Capitol, the heart of a California government that will spend more than $265 billion this fiscal year in state and federal dollars. I’m John Myers, reporting for duty as Sacramento bureau chief bright and early.

I’ve spent the past 15 years covering state government and politics here in the capital city — from the electricity crisis to the historic recall election of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and onward to Gov. Jerry Brown, high speed rail and more.

I’m thrilled to now be a part of the best political reporting team in California, and I hope you’ll stay tuned for some new and unique ways (including in this newsletter) that we’ll be helping you make sense of your state government. Now... back to unpacking my boxes!

KASICH FUND-RAISER

Javier Panzar and Seema Mehta report that Ohio Gov. John Kasich will swing through Orange County Thursday for a fund-raising dinner at the Laguna Hills home of John and Eden Saunders.

Saunders is a commercial real estate investor but might be better known as a prolific collector of rare international coins — he recently sold one of the most valuable Dutch coins in existence to a Newport Beach businessman.

Other names on the invitation, obtained by the Los Angeles Times: Eric Early, Danny Hayes and Tony Guanci. The cost to attend is $2,700 per person.

Kasich, who is focusing on the New Hampshire primary, is trailing in national polls and in the money race. Most of the $4.4 million he has raised so far comes from donors in his home state of Ohio.

California was the second most popular source of cash, one reason he’s coming back for another event with donors. Kasich got some unwanted attention in Orange County last month when he attempted to praise Latinos by sharing an awkward anecdote about tipping his hotel maid.

NOTICED

The incoming state Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon is attempting to lead by example. The Democrat tweeted a photo of himself getting a flu shot, and encouraging people to get theirs early.

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FOR THE RECORD

Oct. 21: An earlier version of this newsletter misidentified Anthony Rendon as incoming state House speaker. He is in the Assembly.

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TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro will be in Los Angeles Tuesday to meet with Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Council members and county supervisors to discuss homelessness.

-- Noah Bierman looks at the candidates left standing in the presidential race and finds that dropping out is hard to do.

-- Geena Davis is a Hillary Clinton person while Danny Devito is a Bernie Sanders guy. The Hill dug into campaign finance filings to learn which stars are opening their wallets for the 2016 candidates.

LOGISTICS

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